Grenade launcher with pivotally mounted barrel

ABSTRACT

A single-shot grenade launcher which can be conveniently attached to a rifle by substitution of relatively few original parts and is a self-contained unit consisting of a launcher barrel pivotally mounted to the underside of the rifle. The unit has its own receiver and firing mechanism, a spring loaded ejector rod and a launcher barrel lock. When the launcher barrel is pivoted downwardly to a 15* angle the ejector rod ejects the cartridge. When the launcher barrel is closed it is automatically locked in the firing position. Locking and release of the launcher barrel and cocking of the firing mechanism is accomplished by a manually operated, spring-loaded slide.

United States Patent Ellis et al.

[ Feb. 15, 1972 [54] GRENADE LAUNCHER WITH PIVOTALLY MOUNTED BARREL [73]Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Secretaryof the Army 22 Filed: May21,1969

211 Appl.No.: 826,315

Silsby ..42/1 F Into .42]! F Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. BorcheltAssistant ExaminerC. T. Jordan Attorney-Harry M. Saragovitz, Edward J.Kelly, Herbert Berl and Robert P. Gibson [5 7] ABSTRACT A single-shotgrenade launcher which can be conveniently attached to a rifle bysubstitution of relatively few original parts and is a self-containedunit consisting of a launcher barrel pivotally mounted to the undersideof the rifle. The unit has its own receiver and firing mechanism, aspring loaded ejector rod and a launcher barrel lock. When the launcherbarrel is pivoted downwardly to a 15 angle the ejector rod ejects thecartridge. When the launcher barrel is closed it is automatically lockedin the firing position. Locking and release of the launcher barrel andcocking of the firing mechanism is accomplished by a manually operated,spring-loaded slide.

7 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures GRENADE LAUNCHER WITH PIVOTALLY MOUNTEDBARREL The invention described herein may be manufactured, used andlicensed by or for the Government for governmental purposes without thepayment to us of any royalty thereon.

The present invention relates to a single-shot grenade launcher which ismounted on the underside of a rifle and which is capable of a rapidfiring cycle without interferring with the operation and maintenance ofthe rifle to which it is attached, and while the grenade launcher ofthis invention is particularly adaptable to the M-l6 rifle, it can beused with rifles of other types with minor modifications.

In the M-16 rifle, the launcher unit is mounted by removal of the riflepivot pin, the right and left handguard, the front swivel pin and sling.The launcher unit is then mounted under the rifle barrel by substitutingfor the removed parts a special pivot pin, a clamp over the riflebarrel'and a special upper handguard which is snapped in place. Nodrilling, machining or other modification to the rifle is necessary.

It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide asingle-shot grenade launcher unit which can be conveniently attached toa rifle.

It is another object to provide a grenade launcher to be attached to arifle that is capable of a rapid-firing cycle and which does notinterfere with the operation or maintenance of the rifle to which it isattached.

It is still another object of the invention to provide a grenadelauncher for attachment to a rifle that is provided with its own firingand ejecting mechanism.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a rifle with the grenade launcher of thisinvention attached thereto, the loading and cartridge ejection positionbeing shown in the broken lines;

FIG. 2 is a fragmental side elevation view of the rifle and forwardportion of the grenade launcher with parts broken away to exposeoperational mechanism;

FIG. 3 is a similar view of the rearward portion of the grenadelauncher;

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view taken along lines 4- 4 of FIG.2;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines 5-5 of FIG. 3, and,

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional detail taken along lines 66 of FIGS. 2 and3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, reference character 1 designatesgenerally a rifle while 2 indicates generally the grenade launcher whichis shown as attached to the rifle 1 in FIG. 1. Rifle 1 includes a barrel3, a stock 4, hand grip 5, magazine 6, a firing mechanism 7, a receiver8, a body portion 9 and a handguard 10.

The grenade launcher 2 consists of a barrel 11 which is provided with acollar 12 having an upstanding block 13 at its upper end. Block 13 ispivoted to the forward end of body 9 at its forward end by a pivot pin14. A cartridge ejecting mechanism is provided for automatic ejection ofa cartridge case from barrel l1 and consists of a rod 15 which isslidable in a longitudinal bore 44 in a block 16 fixed on top of therearward portion of barrel 11 and in a bore 17 in the forward block 13,see FIG. 2. Ejector rod 15 is provided with a head 18 on its rearwardend. Rod 15 is further biased rearwardly by a spring 19in bore 17, seeFIG. 2.

A means for releasing the ejector rod 15 when the barrel 11 is pivoteddownwardly to a 15 angle to permit the head 18 to eject a firedcartridge case 20, see FIG. 1, and consists of a pawl 21 which ispivoted in block 13 as at 22 and biased to pivot downwardly by a spring23. A detent 24 is carried by the rearward end of pawl 21 and is adaptedto engage in a cutout 24a in rod 15, see FIG. 2. As seen in FIG. 6, body9 is transversely bored as at 49. A pin 50 passing through detent 24extends from each side thereof and into bore 49 and is of smallerdiameter than the bore itself. Each end of bore 49 is closed by plugs51. Pawl 21, spring 23 and detent 24 may be nested in appropriaterecesses in block 13 as shown.

The grenade launcher 2 is provided with a receiver indicated generallyby 25 and is independent of receiver 8 of rifle l and is connected tothe rifle 1 by a pivot pin 26 which is substituted for the original pinof the rifle. The receiver 25 includes a firing mechanism consisting ofa hammer 27 which is provided with a firing pin 27a on its forward faceand a notch 27b in its lower end. Hammer 27 is biased by a spring 28 andis rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 29 at its other end. A sear 30,biased by a spring 31 is rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 31a. A trigger32, biased by a spring 33 is rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 33a.

Means are provided for cocking hammer 27 and releasing barrel 11 forreloading and consists of a slide 34 which is provided with a pair ofhandles 35 fixed, one on each side, thereof. Handles 35 ride in a cutout36 in body 9, as shown. Slide 34 is an inverted channel-shaped memberand is biased forwardly by a spring 46. At the breech end of slide 34 isformed a pair of downwardly curved cars 37 which engage hammer 27.Rearward movement of slide 34 will cock the hammer 27 and at the sametime move a pair of spring-loaded latches 38 which engage a pin 39 tolock the launcher barrel 11 when closed.

A clamp 40 over the gun barrel 3 and an upper handguard 41 replacingoriginal hand guard 10 completes the assembly.

OPERATION Assuming that a grenade has been chambered and fired fromlauncher barrel 11 and that the operator is right handed and theoperators left hand is gripping the launcher barrel 11 which is now alsotheir rifles lower handguard, just forward of the two slide handles 35on either side of the barrel 11. The operator's right hand now grips themagazine 6 which acts as a pistol grip when firing the launcher 2, andthe right forefinger is on the trigger 32 of the firing mechanism 25.The trigger 32 is held in a depressed position to allow full gripsupport of the rifle with the right hand when the left hand issubsequently removed. The operator now'slides the left hand looselyalong the barrel 11 rearwardly until the thumb and a finger contacts thehandles 35 to move slide 34 to its full limit of rearward travel whichis determined by slots 42 in slide 34 and pins 43 riding therein, seeFIG. 6. Pin 43 is fixed transversely in body 9, as shown. This movementhas rotated hammer 27 by the cars 37 to be held in a cocked position bysear 30 which engages in notch 27b, and has moved latches 38 to releaselauncher barrel 11. Slide 34 will be urged forwardly by spring 46. Theleft hand now is quickly removed from tube 11 to reach for a new roundand the barrel 11 automatically drops down and is stopped in itsdownward rotation at an approximate 15 angle, whereupon detent 24 isreleased from cutout 24a to permit spring 19 to urge rod 15 rearwardlyand cause head 18 to eject cartridge case 20, which action occurs duringthe last 2 of rotation of the barrel 1] downwardly. The barrel 1 l islimited to a 15 downward rotation and the angle of rotation thereofbeing illustrated in FIG. 1 by broken lines, will obviously be limitedby the relative diameters of pin 50 and bore 49 and the pins movementfrom side to side in bore 49. As barrel 11 drops downward towards theaforesaid 15 angle pawl 21 will rotate in a counter clockwise mannerabout pivot 22 against the bias of spring 23 and the detent 24 isdetached from cutout 24a. Plugs 51 serve as closures for bore 49. Barrel11 is now in position to receive a new round. The new round is insertedin the barrel 1] and held firmly against the ejector head 18 with theheel of the left palm and with the forward part of the palm under thebarrel 11. Then, with an upward push, and the urging of spring 46, thebarrel 11 is pivoted shut and latches 38 engages pin 39 to lock thebarrel 11 in firing position and the left hand moves to a full griparound the barrel 11 and trigger 32 is released and then pulled to firethe round and complete the cycle. As barrel 1] is pivoted shut, the liveround is cammed fully into the barrel 11 as its rim bears against theforward face of firing mechanism 25 which, in turn, bears against theejector rod head 18 which is also cammed to a fully seated positionwhere detent 24 again engages in cutout 24a and locks the barrel 1 l andround in firing position. The detent 24 will not release rod 15 untilbarrel 11 drops again. The movements described above will be reversedshould the operator be left handed. Rod 15 is retained in bores 17 and44 by pin 39 which rides in a cutout 45 in rod 15, see FIG. 3.

It is apparent that a rapid-firing cycle (fire, cock, eject and reloadis accomplished by the grenade launcher of this invention by virtue ofthe overall and detail design concepts employed and by the method bywhich these features have been adapted to fit the movements most naturalto the operator with elimination of lost motion.

Provisions are included to allow trigger guard 47 to swing down aboutpivot pin 46 and to allow trigger 32 to swing forward thus permittingthe rifle to be opened and disassembled for normal cleaning withoutremoving the grenade launcher from the rifle.

What is claimed is:

1. A grenade launcher for attachment to the underside of a riflecomprising a barrel pivotally connected at its forward end to saidrifle, said barrel adapted for rotation between loading and firingpositions in said launcher, means for ejecting a cartridge case fromsaid barrel mounted on said barrel and opera ble when said barrel is insaid loading position, means mounted on said barrel for locking saidejecting means when said barrel is in said firing position, meansmounted on said grenade launcher for locking said barrel when in saidfiring position, a receiver connected to said rifle rearwardly of saidbarrel, a firing mechanism for said launcher mounted in said receiver,and means mounted in said rifle for cocking said rifle firing mechanismand operating means for locking said barrel.

2. A grenade launcher for attachment to the underside of a rifle andoperable independently thereof, and comprising, a barrel having anupstanding, longitudinally bored block on top of each end thereof, saidforward block being pivoted to said rifle whereby said barrel may berotated between loading and firing positions in said launcher, aspring-loaded cartridge ejecting rod having a cartridge-engaging head onits rearward end and a notch in its forward and rearward portions,slidable in said longitudinal bores in said blocks, means housed in saidforward block cooperating with said forward notch for locking saidcartridge-ejecting rod when said barrel is in said firing position,means housed in said launcher for locking said barrel in said firingposition, a receiver attached to said rifle rearwardly of said barrel, afiring mechanism for said launcher in said receiver, and a spring-loadedcocking member slidable in said rifle for cocking said firing mechanismand operating said barrel-locking means.

3. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said rotationbetween loading and firing positions is limited to 15.

4. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means forlocking said cartridge ejection rod comprises a spring-loaded detentpivotally mounted in said rifle and cooperating with said rod wherebywhen said barrel is in said firing position and said rod is cammedforwardly by the forward face of said receiver, said detent will engagein said notch in the forward portion of said rod and become disengagedtherefrom when said barrel is pivoted downwardly to said loadingposition to permit said rod to move rearwardly and eject a cartridgecase from said barrel by said head.

5. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means forlocking said barrel in said firing position comprises a pair ofspring-biased latches mounted in said rifle and a pin transverselymounted in said block on top of the rearward portion of said barrel,said latches being movable by said cocking member to engage said pin tolock said barrel when said barrel is in said firing position in saidlauncher.

6. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said firingmechanism mounted in said receiver comprises a rotatable, spring-loadedhammer having a firing pin fixed to its forward face and a notch in itslower end, a spring-loaded, rotatable trigger and a spring-loaded,rotatable sear disposed between said hammer and said trigger wherebywhen said hammer is rotated counterclockwise by said rearward movementof said cocking member, said sear will engage in said notch in saidhammer to hold it in a cocked position until said trigger is pulled torelease said sear from said notch to permit said hammer to rotateclockwise and fire a cartridge in said barrel.

7. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cocking membercomprises an inverted channel-shaped member slidably mounted in saidrifle and a pair of handles attached, one each, on each side thereof,said slide when moved rearwardly acting to cock said firing mechanismand release said barrel from a firing position and upon forward movementto lock said barrel when in said firing position.

1. A grenade launcher for attachment to the underside of a riflecomprising a barrel pivotally connected at its forward end to saidrifle, said barrel adapted for rotation between loading and firingpositions in said launcher, means for ejecting a cartridge case fromsaid barrel mounted on said barrel and operable when said barrel is insaid loading position, means mounted on said barrel for locking saidejecting means when said barrel is in said firing position, meansmounted on said grenade launcher for locking said barrel when in saidfiring position, a receiver connected to said rifle rearwardly of saidbarrel, a firing mechanism for said launcher mounted in said receiver,and means mounted in said rifle for cocking said rifle firing mechanismand operating means for locking said barrel.
 2. A grenade launcher forattachment to the underside of a rifle and operable independentlythereof, and comprising, a barrel having an upstanding, longitudinallybored block on top of each end thereof, said forward block being pivotedto said rifle whereby said barrel may be rotated between loading andfiring positions in said launcher, a spring-loaded cartridge ejectingrod having a cartridge-engaging head on its rearward end and a notch inits forward and rearward portions, slidable in said longitudinal boresin said blocks, means housed in sAid forward block cooperating with saidforward notch for locking said cartridge-ejecting rod when said barrelis in said firing position, means housed in said launcher for lockingsaid barrel in said firing position, a receiver attached to said riflerearwardly of said barrel, a firing mechanism for said launcher in saidreceiver, and a spring-loaded cocking member slidable in said rifle forcocking said firing mechanism and operating said barrel-locking means.3. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said rotationbetween loading and firing positions is limited to 15*.
 4. A grenadelauncher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said means for locking saidcartridge ejection rod comprises a spring-loaded detent pivotallymounted in said rifle and cooperating with said rod whereby when saidbarrel is in said firing position and said rod is cammed forwardly bythe forward face of said receiver, said detent will engage in said notchin the forward portion of said rod and become disengaged therefrom whensaid barrel is pivoted downwardly to said loading position to permitsaid rod to move rearwardly and eject a cartridge case from said barrelby said head.
 5. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 1 wherein saidmeans for locking said barrel in said firing position comprises a pairof spring-biased latches mounted in said rifle and a pin transverselymounted in said block on top of the rearward portion of said barrel,said latches being movable by said cocking member to engage said pin tolock said barrel when said barrel is in said firing position in saidlauncher.
 6. A grenade launcher as claimed in claim 2 wherein saidfiring mechanism mounted in said receiver comprises a rotatable,spring-loaded hammer having a firing pin fixed to its forward face and anotch in its lower end, a spring-loaded, rotatable trigger and aspring-loaded, rotatable sear disposed between said hammer and saidtrigger whereby when said hammer is rotated counterclockwise by saidrearward movement of said cocking member, said sear will engage in saidnotch in said hammer to hold it in a cocked position until said triggeris pulled to release said sear from said notch to permit said hammer torotate clockwise and fire a cartridge in said barrel.
 7. A grenadelauncher as claimed in claim 2 wherein said cocking member comprises aninverted channel-shaped member slidably mounted in said rifle and a pairof handles attached, one each, on each side thereof, said slide whenmoved rearwardly acting to cock said firing mechanism and release saidbarrel from a firing position and upon forward movement to lock saidbarrel when in said firing position.